


Minerva Never Has Been and Never Will Be a Licensed Therapist

by jadencross



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast), The Adventure Zone - Amnesty - Fandom
Genre: Flashbacks, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Post Episode 28, like immediately afterwards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-09-28 16:03:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20428655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jadencross/pseuds/jadencross
Summary: Aubrey is having a breakdown, Duck is putting out both metaphorical and literal fires, and Minerva doesn’t know what to do with a crying human.





	Minerva Never Has Been and Never Will Be a Licensed Therapist

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason I have like 80 different Amnesty fic ideas lol. I'm gonna be going through them since many of them are oneshots, but, uh, this one was supposed to be a oneshot too and we saw how well that worked out. 
> 
> I'm absolutely still gonna be doing the Commitment stuff still. Amnesty and Commitment are my favorite parts to write bc I just...like the characters and personalities more. 
> 
> I don't know how long this will be lol.
> 
> Enjoy!

Immediately upon entering Duck’s apartment, Aubrey dropped her bags on the floor and fell face first into the couch. From the doorway, she heard Duck’s long-suffering sigh.

“You’re gonna reopen those stitches Jake gave you,” he said.

Aubrey just shrugged.

Duck sighed again. “C’mon, Minerva. Let’s get you set up in the guest room.” 

Aubrey heard footsteps fading down the hall she vaguely recalled seeing before her view was just the weird green velvet of Duck’s couch. She could clearly hear Minerva’s voice through the thin walls of the apartment, but Duck’s was no more than a low rumble.

After a while, Aubrey shifted her face so she could breathe. 

Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD., had taken up residence directly in front of the couch. Aubrey reached out and gently stroked his fur, feeling something small in her uncoil. 

She started crying again.

Ned was dead. 

Gone.

Forever.

Aubrey didn’t have the strength to hide her face again, so she just let herself get Duck’s couch wet. 

The last emotion she had towards him was anger. The last thing she did with him was have an argument. The last time she looked at him was through a filter of rage. 

The last thing she told him to do was leave. 

She sure got her wish, huh?

It was a while before she came back to herself. When she did, she spotted Duck sitting in the chair opposite her. He had changed into what she assumed was his pyjamas: loose plaid pants and an oversized T-shirt, even on him. He was staring blankly into the middle distance, a half empty bottle of wine in his hand. 

After a moment, seemingly sensing Aubrey’s gaze, he came back to himself. He looked to her face, checking her over, and took a swig of the wine bottle. 

“Do you want any blankets?” he asked.

Aubrey nodded.

“Pillow?”

Aubrey nodded again. She felt numb.

Duck set the wine bottle down on the end table, getting up with effort. When he came back he had a fluffy blanket in one hand and a rather large pillow in the other.

“Lift your head a sec,” he said.

Aubrey complied. 

Duck set the pillow down, adjusting it on the armrest. When he finished he patted it. Aubrey let her head fall. 

“Are you planning on changing tonight?” Duck asked. 

Aubrey shook her head.

Duck sighed. “Can you at least turn over?”

“Too tired,” Aubrey said.

“Mind if I do it?”

Aubrey shook her head. 

Duck set the blanket down on the chair. Gently, he pushed his arms between her and the couch, lifting her and turning her over. Aubrey winced when he bumped her leg, but, overall, it wasn’t nearly as painful as she expected.

As he stood to walk back towards the kitchen, Aubrey adjusted until she was in a more comfy spot. Duck came back quickly, first aid kit in hand.

Aubrey made a face.

“Kid, Jake’s not got medical training,” Duck said, sitting moving to kneel on the floor. “I don’t know how good he is at bandaging wounds.”

“Fine,” she said. 

Duck popped open the kit as Aubrey braced herself.

Turns out, removing the bandage hurt the worst. Duck did who-knows-what once it was off before replacing the bandage with a clean one.

“Kid did better than I thought,” Duck said almost to himself, getting to his feet. He spread the blanket out on Aubrey, tucking in the edges that reminded her of her mom putting her into bed as a kid in a way she really didn’t need right now.

Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD., sensing her distress, decided that it was time to join her on the couch. He hopped onto her chest, which, if he had been any normal-sized rabbit, would have been no problem. Instead, Aubrey winced, pulling on her stitches, causing her to bite her lip even more. 

Duck came back into the living room, picking up the wine bottle. He turned to her, giving her yet another once over. 

“You good for the night?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she replied. Her voice was less shaky than she felt.

Duck nodded. He put the bottle to his lips and, in one long gulp, downed the rest of the wine. 

Aubrey blinked. “You, uh, probably shouldn’t do that,” she said.

Duck looked at her. “Do what?”

“Drink that much. Especially for, like, emotional comfort.”

Duck glanced at the now empty bottle in his hand. He sighed. “Aubrey, there’s a difference between being an alcoholic and wanting to get absolutely wasted on arguably the worst night of your life.”

Aubrey figured that was fair. 

“Alright, now,” Duck said, adjusting himself that way he always did when he was uncomfortable, “I’m gonna head to bed. Come and get me if you need literally anything.”

“Okay.”

And then Duck was gone.

* * *

It had taken a long time for Aubrey to fall asleep, and even once she did, it was restless. 

It was almost a relief when the phone started ringing not two feet from her head. 

Aubrey’s eyes cracked open on the third ring. Blearily, her eyes focused on the two forms on her chest.

Huh.

She didn’t know Duck had a cat.

Or maybe she did, but had forgotten.

The phone rang again, and Aubrey pushed the two protesting forms from her chest so she could twist to get the phone. On the way, her leg twinged, but she ignored it, picking up the receiver.

“Hello?” she said groggily.

“Uh,” a voice said on the other side. “I’m looking for Duck Newton?”

“Oh, yeah,” Aubrey said. “Let me go get him.”

Aubrey set the phone down on the table, getting to her feet. It was more painful to walk than it had been when she was running on adrenaline, but she managed. 

Aubrey didn’t have to worry about figuring out which bedroom was Duck’s, since Minvera opened her door as she approached.

“Aubrey Little!” Minerva said in her booming voice. “What correspondence have you received?” 

“Call for Duck,” Aubrey said, putting her hand on the other door. “Dunno what for.”

“Then I shall ask him in the morning!” Minerva then shut her door. 

Aubrey really didn’t understand Minerva.

Aubrey pushed open the door to Duck’s bedroom. There had been a crack in the door initially, probably for the cat. Inside was the darkest part of the apartment. Aubrey could just barely make out a large lump in the bed, illuminated by the digital clock. 

Aubrey spotted the clock and balked. 

3:48 AM.

Who the fuck was calling Duck at a time like this?

“Duck,” Aubrey whispered. He didn’t move, and it occurred to Aubrey that if Minerva shouting wasn’t going to do anything her whispering at him from 5 feet away wouldn’t wake him either. She moved closer.

“Duck,” Aubrey said, right up next to him. She got no response again, so she shook him a little bit. “Duck, wake up.”

There a snort, and then a groggy “huh?” before Duck turned over and Aubrey could just barely make out his eyes in the darkness.

“Yeah, Aubrey?”

“There’s a phonecall for you.”

Duck glanced at the time, and then sighed one of the biggest sighes Aubrey’s ever heard from him. There was a sense of inevitability.

“Tell ‘em I’ll be right there,” he said, beginning to push himself up.

Aubrey nodded, heading back out to the living room.

“He’s on his way,” Aubrey said after picking the receiver back up. 

“Thank you,” the voice said.

Duck waddled into the living room, looking sore and tired. He took the phone from her.

“Go for Duck,” he said.

There was a pause, and then Duck brought his hand up to start pinching his nose and rubbing his face.

“Yeah, I noticed,” he said, sounding oh so tired. 

There was another, longer pause. Aubrey strained to hear the voice on the other side, but she couldn’t make out any words.

Duck sighed again. “Yeah, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Another pause, and the voice on the phone changed.

“Well, howdy Sheriff,” Duck said. 

This time, during the pause, Duck stopped. Slowly, he dropped his hand back down to his side. A look of shock was on his face.

“He what?” Duck whispered.

There was some response, and Duck quickly looked down to the floor.

“I…,” he started, then bit his lip. “Sheriff, I dunno if I can...Listen, the feds already--”

The voice on the other end cut him off. 

Duck started to look frustrated.

“Can’t you give me a day? There are so many people who know him. Hell, Kirby could probably...Why does it have to be me?” Duck glanced at the clock. “I’ve only gotten 2 hours of sleep, Zeke. Can you just...give me some time?”

The voice on the other end was too quiet to hear. 

“Thanks, Zeke,” Duck said, and Aubrey felt that tight feeling in her chest start to unwind again. “I’ll be in touch.” 

He hung up the phone.

Duck took a deep breath, squeezing his eyes shut and pushing the air out through his teeth. 

Aubrey stood there, her presence a silent question.

“I got called into work,” Duck said, turning to her. His eyes were a little glossy, and Aubrey wasn’t sure if it was because he was tired, because he had been drinking, or because of something else. “‘Parrently the mountain top disturbed a lot more than I thought.”

“What did Sheriff Zeke want?” Aubrey asked. 

Duck’s eyes started to water. 

“Apparently on some paperwork a’ Ned’s, I was listed as the next of kin.”

Aubrey felt the world shift again.

“Oh.”

Duck’s gaze cleared a little, concern drying his eyes.

“You need to sit down,” he said.

In response, Aubrey sat down on the couch, hard. Duck pulled the blanket up and wrapped it around her. Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD., was already jumping into her lap, but Duck scooped up his big calico cat to set on her, too. 

“Are you okay?” Duck asked. 

Aubrey only managed a nod. He wasn’t fooled.

Duck swore. “Listen,” he said. “I have to go into work right now. There’s a lot of people who need my help. You need to stay here and just take care of yourself, okay?”

Aubrey looked up at him, tears filling her eyes again. 

“Please don’t leave me alone, Duck.”

Duck paused, looking at her in something that seemed like...confusion?

“I’ll get Minerva,” he said, getting to his feet. Aubrey tried to grab his hand but didn’t make it in time.

Duck returned after a few moments, but to Aubrey they felt like hours. Minerva stood behind him, looking confused but excited.

“Now,” he said, glancing between his roommates, “I know that Minerva doesn’t have the most intimate knowledge of the human psyche--”

“Yes, you creatures  _ do _ confuse me!” Minerva interrupted.

Duck suppressed a sigh. He knelt down in front of Aubrey again.

“I’m sorry, kid,” he said, low and soft, “but I have to go. I’ll be back just as soon as I can, okay?”

Numbly, Aubrey nodded.

“Listen,” Duck said, leaning back to look at Minerva, too. “Leo is in the apartment right next door. If you need  _ anything  _ go and get him, okay?”

“I will do as you have asked, Duck Newton!” Minerva chirped.

A smile ghosted over Duck’s lips. He turned back to Aubrey, putting his hand on her shoulders.

“You’ll be okay, Aubrey,” he said with such conviction she almost believed it. “I promise.”

Aubrey didn’t look up. 

After a few moments, Duck stood and moved to the door, collecting his hat. “Just keep an eye on her, okay?”

“I shall not fail to complete such a simple task as this, Duck Newton!” Minerva said, sounding offended. “I have raised many a champion over the years! I shall not falter!”

Duck gave a knowing look before collecting his keys and stepping out the door.

Immediately, Aubrey’s breathing started to quicken.

She heard his footsteps disappearing down the hallway and she was unsure if the sound was fading so quickly because he was running or because her breathing was so loud.

Why was it so loud?

Oh.

Yeah.

She couldn’t breathe.

_ Great, _ she thought.  _ A panic attack. _

“Aubrey?” Minerva’s voice called from the end of the tunnel, but Aubrey couldn’t answer. She was drowning, her body hallow and full and soft and hard and  _ she couldn’t breathe. _

Distantly, she felt something hard and warm surround her, and something soft on her face. It was wet, too, but she couldn’t focus on anything

_ He’s gone. _

Something squeezed her tighter, but she couldn’t feel it.

_ He’s gone. He’s gone he’s gone he’sgonehe’sgonehe’sgone-- _

“Who’s gone,” a gruff voice said.

Aubrey didn’t know.

“Kid,” the voice said again. “Kid, listen to my voice, okay? Pay attention to what I’m saying. Can you do that?” Something moved. “Squeeze my hand for yes.”

Aubrey found her hand, squeezing the soft and calloused skin she felt in her palm.

“Good, okay,” the voice said. “Now try to breathe when I breathe okay? I’m gonna tell you when okay?”

Aubrey squeezed again. They started breathing together. 

She came back to herself in spurts.

She was in Duck’s apartment.

She was on the floor in Duck’s apartment.

She was on the floor in Duck’s apartment with a large blue alien holding her like a child and the old guy who ran the grocery store was crouched in front of her holding her hand and helping her get out of a panic attack.

Aubrey assumed Minerva had taken Duck’s advice to get Leo.

“Okay,” she said, shaky. “I think I’m okay now.”

Leo studied her face, not quite sure if he believed it. 

“I’ll... _ be _ okay,” Aubrey clarified.

Leo nodded. “If you hadn’t a’ come outta that soon I was gonna take you to the hospital.”

Minerva stiffened. “You humans can panic to the point of hospitalization?”

“Yeah,” Leo said. He stood, stretching out the kinks in his back. “The mind’s a fickle thing.”

Minerva was silent at that.

Aubrey sat up, still shaky. “Does Duck have anything to drink?”

Leo thought for a second. “Not sure. He hasn’t been shopping at my store since it’s not quite ready for customers yet.” He turned. “Let’s look and see.”

He moved towards the kitchen, and Aubrey heard the pop of the fridge opening.

“He’s got orange juice and…,” there was the sound of him pulling something out, then a soft noise of disgust. “Water. Orange juice and water.”

“I’ll take the orange juice,” Aubrey said. 

“Comin’ right up.”

Aubrey sat there for a moment. She was still aware of her breathing, but it was getting better. 

“Um,” she started, leaning back to look at Minerva, “can you help me get to the couch? I think it’ll be much more comfortable.”

“Of course,” Minerva said, much more subdued than Aubrey had heard yet. 

Gently, she lifted Aubrey to the couch, her face betraying no sign of difficulty. She set Aubrey down, before sitting cross-legged on the floor facing her as Leo came into the room with a glass of orange juice which he handed to her. 

“Thanks,” Aubrey said to both of them before she took a sip. 

She really did feel better.

Not perfect.

But she was getting there.

“I need to go,” Leo said, hesitantly. “I’ve got some Sylvains in my apartment who need help calming down, too.” He eyed Aubrey. “Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?”

“I’m sure.”

Leo studied her, before nodding. “Minerva, if she started like that again just try to do what I did, okay? If she doesn’t get better feel free to come and get me again.”

“Thank you, Leo,” Minerva said softly. She didn’t look away from Aubrey.

Leo nodded, then left.

Something in Aubrey’s chest caught a little when the door shut but it wasn’t major.

Slowly, Aubrey finished her orange juice. She set the glass down on the end table next to the couch, locking eyes again with Minerva, who had not moved.

“Um,” Aubrey started. She glanced at the clock. 5:56.  _ Damn. _

“I really need to go back to sleep.” She gestured to her leg. “I won’t get any better if I don’t rest.”

“Please, feel free to do so!” Minerva said, her voice not as booming as before but still stronger. “I will remain here by your side until you awaken, to ensure that you get the best of rest!”

“You...really don’t need to,” Aubrey said.

“No no I insist!” Minerva still hadn’t moved. “I wish to prevent any further harm coming to Duck Newton’s companion!”

Aubrey stared for a second, ready to argue, when the exhaustion hit her.

It had been...a long day.

“Can you at least sit in the chair?”

Minerva glanced behind her. “Of course!”

They both got into position, Dr. Harris Bonkers, PhD. and Duck’s cat both climbing onto Aubrey’s chest once again. She pet both of them, and then made a mental note to ask Duck what the cat’s name was when he got back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen I just love the "Aubrey and Minerva live with Duck" scenario and since Duck's the only one with a job I think Minerva and Aubrey would get to bond a lot. 
> 
> Also, Ned's definitely the type to forge documents saying Duck was his next of kin bc he knows Duck wouldn't be super mad you can't change my mind. 
> 
> I have no idea when the next chapter will be up but it will be!
> 
> See you next chapter!


End file.
